Chapter 79
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79
Vast amounts of data travel through the Empire's networks at the speed of light. And yet, we still passed our most crucial words from mouth to mouth, and handed our information from hand to hand.
Because networks are vulnerable. No matter how far technology advances, that remains an absolute truth.
Upon returning to the Imperial Guard, I handed the data chip to Heilas. It held the extracted memories of the Nemesis contact.
Clink.
Heilas took the chip and dropped it into a glass of liquid.
Sssss...
The chemical coating on the data chip triggered a neutralization reaction with the liquid inside the glass.
So that's the Custoria Family's seal.
Only the Family Head and a select few would know that chemical formula.
Connecting the chip to a terminal without breaking the seal would trigger a disaster. It wouldn't just fry the terminal—the chip itself would be destroyed in the process.
Data sealing was one of many security measures noble families used to guard their secrets. When they absolutely had to store classified information digitally, they always added at least one layer of analog security. The Custoria Family's method was coating the chip with a specific chemical.
If I had accessed the contents of that chip first... I would have been interrogated on the spot.
Heilas hadn't given me any warning. Maybe he trusted that I naturally wouldn't look. Or maybe he'd been testing me.
"Hmm, that should do it. Submerge it for less than the designated time and the seal won't fully neutralize. Leave it in any longer, and the chip is ruined."
Heilas explained helpfully. He dipped his fingers into the glass and fished the chip out.
Whir.
The terminal's lens slid open. The instant the chip was inserted, bluish light swirled around the aperture, and a holographic interface flickered to life.
"Then, I'll take my leave," I said, trying to spare myself the sight of the classified data.
"No. You have every right to see it. You carried out this mission with me, after all."
Heilas's trust often felt like a weight. I already knew far too many secrets and classified details—each one dangerous enough to cost me my life.
Hummm.
Heilas reached into the hologram and manipulated the data. Only after a tedious security protocol did the memory playback finally begin.
Visualizing human memory is an incredibly difficult task. Even now, what played out was nothing more than fragmented scenes forcibly stitched together. The low-resolution footage was as dark as the deep sea, and the audio was so disjointed and fractured that it made my ears ache. The occasional human voice sounded muddy and distorted, cutting in and out without rhythm.
Even watching the holographic footage directly, it was hard to grasp any context or meaning. It was like peering into the mind of a madman.
A sense of futility washed over me. Was a human being 'dismantled' just for this—crude, messy, incoherent scraps?
Memories wrung from a brain.
Paigon must have squeezed the contact's brain dry like a disposable rag. Once every scrap of information was extracted, the brain would have been discarded on the spot.
Whether he noticed my disappointment or not, Heilas continued.
"Now, we feed this data into an AI that mimics human cognitive algorithms to accelerate the processing. That will clean up the degraded video and audio. We humans naturally patch over and fill in fragmented, old memories to construct 'plausible, coherent recollections.' It's the same principle."
It was a method I'd never heard of before.
"But wouldn't memories reconstructed that way be inaccurate? That's basically guesswork."
The older human memories get, the less reliable they become. That was exactly why cross-verification was always necessary.
"Perhaps. But at least it establishes enough context to make the memory observable and comprehensible. A little inaccuracy doesn't matter. What we need is a lead for our next move."
At Heilas's gesture, the memory data on the hologram sped up. With each repeated playback, the arrangement of scenes shifted and the audio reshaped itself.
It was like watching a bare skeleton of a story get fleshed out by a master liar.
—...deliver, and.
—carefully...
—two days, gap.
I, too, was beginning to grasp the context.
"Hmm. This complicates things. This man was a Mementori."
"A Mementori?"
It seemed I was going to learn a great deal today.
"A Mementori is a human whose long-term memory function has been severely degraded. They retain only fragments of their past, and their short-term memory lasts anywhere from a few minutes to a few days at most. That makes them perfect couriers for classified information."
Heilas spoke calmly, but I couldn't help frowning.
"The fact that there's a specific term and a specific use for them... does that mean they artificially destroyed someone's brain functions to turn them into a vegetable?"
"Usually, yes. It's been a while since I've seen one myself. It's a security method you rarely encounter these days."
"So did we just waste our time?"
My tone bordered on confrontational.
Ever since I'd been folded into the Custoria Family, speaking with Heilas had grown increasingly comfortable. Damn it—I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing.
Undeterred by my disrespect, Heilas showed no sign of surprise or anger as he continued.
"Even computers struggle to completely erase data. Complete memory loss in a human brain is closer still to impossible. There will be a trace somewhere—something we can recognize."
Heilas accelerated the memory playback. Our pupils dilated as our brains shifted into high-speed cognitive processing. We had to find a lead.
Blurry footage and fragmented voices looped over and over. We could barely piece together any context. Warm memories and horrific traumas flickered past in equal measure.
A person's entire life was being dismantled piece by piece—even if only through static-riddled footage.
—this time, important, shh, Cus, my.
I sharpened my focus. It wasn't the first time the Custoria Family had been mentioned, but this particular fragment nagged at me.
Click, click.
Heilas worked the holographic interface and replayed the segment.
In the footage, a woman was saying something. It was barely possible to tell she was even female. Only about one word in ten was audible.
"Can we make it any clearer?"
"Any more correction and it'll distort reality entirely. It stops being falsehood and becomes pure invention. This is the limit."
"Then could you send just this segment to my terminal? Something's bothering me, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Easy enough."
Heilas clipped the holographic footage. A moment later, the file transferred to my terminal via short-range communication.
"If you figure anything out, come to me at once. You don't need an appointment. This isn't Imperial Guard business—it's family business."
I bowed and left Heilas's office.
—this time, important, shh, Cus, my.
I listened to the voice on loop the entire way back to my quarters. Same thing while I rested. I watched and listened to the clip over and over. Eventually, even with my eyes closed, the brief footage played out behind my eyelids, the audio echoing in my skull like a phantom whisper.
Another day passed. The frustration was driving me insane. It felt like trying to retrieve something that had fallen beneath a metal grate—my fingertips barely brushing it, never quite closing.
I wasn't obsessing over the clip mindlessly. I had a reason—my intuition.
If I let this slide without reaching a conclusion, I really would lose my mind.
Crack, crack.
I stretched, cracking my neck and back, then ran a diagnostic movement check on every part of my prosthetic body.
I'm finishing this today.
I regulated my breathing, exhaling at steady intervals.
Meditation.
I turned all my focus inward. Right now, I wouldn't even react to an ambush. That was how completely I'd severed my external senses.
Within my mindscape, I laid the memory footage out frame by frame. I examined each image with the meticulous care of an appraiser studying a masterpiece.
—th, is, ti—
The faster I moved through my mindscape, the faster the voice played. When I slowed my pace, the syllables stretched out endlessly.
No matter how proficient I am in the Akies Combat Style... I shouldn't be able to perceive something even Heilas missed.
So why am I so fixated on this clip? It's an inexplicable gut feeling.
—this time, important, shh, Cus, my.
Intuition isn't magic. It's a subconscious trigger pulled by my own experiences, memories, and knowledge.
Something Heilas doesn't know—but I do.
My thoughts plunged deeper. As my cognitive speed climbed, a sharp headache flared. It felt as if my nervous system were burning.
Bzzz.
A chilling static buzzed through my head. For a split second, a face flashed in my mind.
"...Barbara."
I muttered the name, opening my eyes. Heilas had almost certainly never met Barbara in person. Even if he had, it would have been a lifetime ago. I, on the other hand, had met her very recently.
I overlaid my memory of Barbara onto the woman in the footage.
There was no physical evidence. And yet I was absolutely certain the woman in the footage was Barbara.
It made perfect sense for Barbara to appear in the contact's memories. After all, she was a spy the Empire had planted deep within Nemesis.
I checked Heilas's schedule and went straight to his office.
"It's Barbara."
I got straight to the point. I didn't bother explaining that it was only a hunch, unsupported by physical evidence. I didn't need to spell such things out for Heilas. He was an exceptional commander—one who knew his subordinate's capabilities inside and out.
A faint tremor rippled through Heilas's pupils. Even I could tell he'd sunk deep into thought.
"I see. Await further orders."
* * *
Two days passed after my report.
The missing link in the contact's memory was the 'Witch Barbara.'
Heilas seemed to be wrestling with whether to make contact with her. The Empire had poured years of painstaking effort into planting Barbara inside Nemesis.
Barbara is monitoring Nemesis from the inside for the Empire.
An Imperial soldier initiating contact with her carried enormous risk. It would put her in extreme danger.
It hasn't been long since she infiltrated Nemesis. Nowhere near enough time to earn their complete trust. If she acts even slightly suspicious, they'll dispose of her.
For now, we had to wait until she fully established her position. A premature move was out of the question.
But without contacting her, we had no way to investigate the death of Nikolaos Custoria.
Would Heilas really deploy Imperial assets for a personal matter?
I doubted it. The Heilas I knew drew a strict line between public duty and private affairs. An exemplary soldier like him wouldn't cross it.
And my intuition proved correct.
"Luka. We stop here. Until we find other evidence or leads, focus on your duties in the Imperial Guard."
Heilas and I were talking inside an aerial vehicle bound for the Custoria mansion. We occasionally dined at the estate like this before returning to headquarters—we were expected to show our faces as members of the family, after all.
I didn't answer right away, letting the silence stretch. Heilas watched me quietly.
"...There might be a way to contact Barbara naturally."
I spoke up after a moment of deliberation.
"And what would that be?"
Heilas's gaze was heavy and piercing, as though dissecting my thoughts.
"If Giselle leaves Akbaran... there's a high probability Barbara will try to contact her first. From what I remember, Barbara was excessively obsessed with Giselle. That emotion, at least, wasn't an act."
I wasn't sure Heilas would agree to this. It was a bit of a cheap trick—dangling bait to lure out an active Imperial asset.
I quickly pressed on.
"Nemesis already knows about Barbara's obsession with Giselle. They tried to kidnap Giselle at Barbara's request in the first place. So even if Barbara makes a reckless move to contact her, they won't find it suspicious."
"If things go wrong, Giselle could be harmed. Are you suggesting we put her in danger?"
The words might have sounded like an interrogation, or an angry rebuke, but Heilas wasn't the type to smother his children with overprotection. He was simply questioning my intent.
"You've used Giselle as bait at the Academy before, Captain. And this time we don't even have to lie to her. If we explain the situation, she'll willingly play the part. It's family business, after all. Giselle has that much duty and responsibility in her."
Heilas stroked his chin in silence. The aerial vehicle glided forward without a sound. Only when the estate came into view did he give a slow, quiet nod.
Heilas had given his approval. Not as the Captain of the Imperial Guard—but as the Family Head.